Growth Street launches only P2P overdraft for SMEs

Growth Street launches proposition for lenders, and invites investors to apply via the Growth Street market place.

• Growth Street is a peer to peer market place for SMEs, connecting small businesses who want to borrow and save.
• Growth Street allows companies wishing to invest through Growth Street’s market place to earn up to 6.5% on their investments, significantly more than the high street banks.
• Growth Street is the only provider of a P2P overdraft product for SMEs. Other providers offer fixed term loans only.
•  Investors benefit from Growth Street’s 30 days’ notice, meaning they are only matched with a borrower for 30 days after which they can decide to continue or move to another borrower.
• Growth Street P2P protection fund for investors amounts to 9% of all outstanding loans – a high figure for the sector.
• Investors receive a welcome bonus of £100 if they invest for a year.

Businesses investing excess cash via Growth Street can now earn up to 6.5% AER, outstripping the minimal rates offered by high street banks on business saving accounts.

The rate cut recently announced by the Bank of England has compounded the misery faced by businesses that earn minimal interest on their savings. Many firms have been forced into building up cash reserves due to the radical reduction in bank overdraft lending, but get very little in return due to rates being at record lows.

Furthermore, the CMA's final report into business banking services has shown that there is just not enough competition and that a series of remedies are needed to rectify the stranglehold banks have on business finances.

This ‘perfect storm’ of poor high street interest rates coupled with a lack of real competition, means that there is a place for alternative finance providers to offer SMEs real returns. Growth Street is now providing firms with this opportunity to earn a better return on any excess cash, by creating a marketplace that connects businesses that want to lend, with businesses that want to borrow.

James Sherwin-Smith, CEO at Growth Street, comments: "In this post Brexit environment, it is essential that businesses have access to competitive financial solutions that support their endeavours. We are therefore delighted to open our marketplace to serve the needs of businesses looking for a better deal on their excess cash, and further support the growing number of firms looking for finance on better terms than the incumbents can provide."

James is CEO of Growth Street, an alternative finance platform for SMEs based in the UK.

Growth Street is a better way to finance and grow your business.  Growth Street operates an alternative finance platform for SMEs that offers borrowers better finance terms on business overdrafts and delivers a superior risk-adjusted return for lenders – a true B2B offering!

Our first product is a revolving credit facility – an overdraft alternative.  Once opened, SMEs can borrow and repay at will, and only pay interest on what they borrow, when they borrow. We charge a single annual fee, and are always open and transparent about what we charge customers, and why.

James Sherwin-Smith is an engineer by education, a consultant by experience, and at heart a frustrated entrepreneur.